Startup Fabheads raises $10 mn to automate composite manufacturing

Accel leads Series A as Fabheads aims to modernise carbon fibre production; eyes aerospace and clean energy sectors

Fabheads, a startup specializing in automated composite manufacturing, has raised $10 million in a Series A funding round led by Accel, with additional participation from Trifecta Capital.

 

The latest round brings the total capital raised by the company to $13 million, including $3 million from earlier seed and pre-seed rounds.

 

Fabheads said the new funding will be used to expand its manufacturing capacity. The funds would also bolster its leadership team, and grow its engineering and research operations to better serve industrial clients.

 

Founded in 2015 by experienced ISRO engineers Dhinesh Kanagaraj and Abhijeet Rathore, Fabheads has developed patent-granted custom automated manufacturing solutions that combine traditional craftsmanship with cutting-edge automation technology.    

“Having experienced the limitations of manual composite manufacturing firsthand during our time at ISRO, we knew an innovative disruption was necessary — not incremental,” said Dhinesh Kanagaraj, Co-founder and CEO at Fabheads. “ Here we are not just automating a process; we are redefining how high-performance parts using advanced materials like composites can be made faster, better, and more affordably.”

 

Kanagaraj said this funding enables the firm to take a major step towards making composites accessible for aerospace, mobility and clean energy. “We are uniquely positioned to lead innovation in the composite manufacturing space both domestically and globally.” 

Fabheads automates critical processes such as fiber placement and layering with robotic precision, enabling manufacturers to reduce costs by up to 50 per cent and lower rejection rates by up to 20 per cent. Its proprietary automated manufacturing system also cuts material wastage by 20 per cent and accelerates production cycles by up to 30 per cent, effectively overcoming the key inefficiencies of traditional manual methods. 

 

“What impressed us about Fabheads is their breakthrough in building proprietary technology that stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the best globally in a field dominated by just a handful of players,” said Prayank Swaroop, Partner at Accel. “As composites become increasingly vital across aerospace, defense, mobility, and renewable energy, Fabheads is addressing the core manufacturing bottlenecks that have long hindered widespread adoption.”

 

India's composites materials market, valued at $1.8 billion in 2024, is projected to grow to $2.8 billion by 2030 with a 7.8 per cent CAGR (compound annual growth rate). The government is also actively promoting domestic manufacturing of advanced materials — recently announcing plans to begin carbon fiber production by 2025-26 and targeting $10 billion in technical textiles exports by 2030 under initiatives like the National Technical Textiles Mission and PLI schemes.

 

Despite the growing demand for composites globally, fiber-based material manufacturing, particularly for carbon fiber, remains largely manual even today. This dependence persists because carbon fibers are delicate and require precise, highly skilled hand-laying techniques to preserve material integrity and strength. These labor-intensive methods often result in extended lead times, higher rejection rates due to human error, substantial material wastage, and elevated production costs.